Reviews

The Red Palace by June Hur 허주은

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amybraunauthor's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sheisinquisitive's review

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4.0

Naturally, I gravitate towards period pieces (partly because I am fascinated with history and dislike much of the modern era). I am also drawn to learning about different cultures. This book is the perfect combination of those two things, and I loved every word of it.

June Hur does a wonderful job with every element of this book. She humanizes our villains without excusing the horrors of their actions, validates our protagonist's desire to be a hero, to be more, and, later, choosing not to be, and provides the reader with a clear understanding of everyone's motivations. Hur lets the reader decide how to feel about the actions (or reactions) taken by our main ensemble but offers all sides to the story.

As seen in film or television, every character received the correct amount of "screen time" to showcase their development -- even when they were not present and grew "off screen." Although I would've loved more of Eojin and Hyeon, I am content with what I got. The respectful distance between the lovers only increased their emotional connection and admiration for each other, and it felt right. It rang true to many period pieces I've read or watched where lovers stay within the lines of propriety without having to entirely compromise their affection. It was a slowburn in all the right ways, and I wish we'd get more stories like this. I also love the cultural elements integrated here, the ones that limit and yet guide how Eojin and Hyeon interact with each other. And the descriptions, the imagery? Relative to the romance subplot or otherwise, I was taken aback by how gorgeous some of the visuals were throughout the story.

I love how the themes of family, duty, gender, and social expectations drive much of the story for each character, not just Hyeon. Although Hur touched on many topics, playing around with different family and social dynamics, she didn't merely scratch the surface. There's a lot to unravel in every relationship, every thread that connects one person to another. Despite how intertwined all of their stories are, it was rarely messy to the point of distortion or finding plot holes.

Overall, Hur did a beautiful job with this story. I hope to read more of her work down the road.

moonology's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

3.25

shainalite's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

h_nnah's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

fluttertutter's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

felt like i’m watching a korean period drama which isn’t bad i guess. flow was not bad but the motivations of the murder was like ??? but reading the afterword helped me to understand a bit better. romance part was minimal but i think it’s because that is not the focus just a little bit to make the story abit more diverse i guess. overall an okay read writing was good